Salem's Most Visited Museum

Salem Witch Museum

Salem Witch Museum News

by: Kevin Frasca
When you travel, is it the typical souvenir mug, shot glass, or keychain you search for to add to your collection back home, or an original item that can only be found at the exact location you visit? Whatever your answer is, you can find what you’re looking for in the Salem Witch Museum gift shop. The shop has anything you could imagine, from souvenir collectibles, to unique gift items, to Halloween decorations, but if it’s originality you desire, the Salem Witch Museum has the shop for you.
Local artisan and Salem resident David Mullin creates several hand-crafted items that make great souvenirs to commemorate your visit to Salem, Massachusetts. Each piece has a special meaning and a special use while still tying in to Salem’s “witchy” motif. Here are descriptions of some of these great finds.
[singlepic id=10 w=250 h=250 float=left] Salem Witch Bottle
Witch bottles have been found inside the chimneys of old European houses. Their purpose is to protect the house against the evil spirits and dark magick that could bring with them plagues and other misfortunes. Inside the bottles are items that are believed by those who know folk magick to repel or entrap these home intruders. The contents of the bottles vary from region to region. The exact ingredients of Salem’s bottle include a rusted iron nail, local soil, and some spices. The bottle also contains the Domus-Defendio charm, which is written on the package if you would like to make certain the charm works. The package contains more detailed information about the ingredients. One warning: do not open the bottle, and be careful not to break it; for this spends its magick and releases anything that had been trapped inside!
Apprentice Wand
Perfect for the young witch or wizard that may be headed to platform nine-and-three-quarters (or a Halloween party), these wands are far more environment-friendly than those made from the tail of the phoenix in J.K. Rowling’s series. Each wand is individually made simply from recycle paper (preferably from old spell books) and bound together with paste and paint. Not only are they biodegradable, but also they make great gifts for children because they are water-resistant, and easily reparable. Do not be too quick to doubt the power of these wands just because they were not purchased at Ollivander’s. Any child can use them to harness one of the greatest powers of all: the human imagination.
The Quill Pen
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Wands are not the only thing that you can use to put the imagination to work. Ideas need to be written down, so why not turn to an old fashioned quill pen? These pens look just like the ones you see in recreations of colonial America. They are not just for decoration or collecting, either. Each pen comes with a small bottle of ink, so they are fully functional! The feathers for the pens come from turkeys from Massachusetts, Michigan, and Missouri. The quill is made by hand using a centuries-old process, taking measures to ensure writing comfort and a well-developed quill tip with which to write with. The package gives some great information on this as well as a brief history on the evolution of writing from cave drawings, to Egyptian hieroglyphics on papyrus, to the advent of the quill pen. These pens would be great in any case that you may need elegant handwriting. Tips for using the quill are also given on the package.
[singlepic id=12 w=200 h=200 float=left] Hand Made Witch Hats
Along with Mullin’s selection, the Salem Witch Museum also sells original hand made witch hats. What’s even more special about the hats is that they are made right in the Salem Witch Museum, by another local artist. One of these hats would complete a perfect Halloween witch costume, and would guarantee you a unique costume at your costume party, for no two hats are the same; every one is an original work of art. They also make great centerpieces for Halloween dinner gatherings. Depending on the time of year of your visit, you might even be able to stumble across a hat specifically themed for a given holiday or event.
The Salem Witch Museum gift shop boasts several other New England-made items as well, though none of the rest are truly of Salem origin. If it’s originality you seek, it can surely be found here in Salem. To start your own new collection of Salem witch gear or simply to check out what else there is to be seen, you’ll just have to stop by for a spell!

[singlepic id =7 w=200 h=200 float=right]"Preserve the past, save the future," is the motto for the Mississippi Stone Guild whose president, Michael Drummond Davidson, has been working to conserve the facade of the Salem Witch Museum since the Spring of this year. The time has come to confront the challenge of preserving the historic exterior of a building which has become a prominent landmark in Salem.
THE BUILDING'S FAMILY TREE
[singlepic id=6 w=250 h=250 float=left] Designed by Minard Lefever, a prominent nineteenth century New York architect, the country English Gothic church built 1844-1846 as the East Church is now in need of a facelift. Like his other notable works of the time, for example Saint Ann and the Holy Trinity Church pictured at left, the East Church had a crenellated facade (notched like a fortress battlement) with three pointed-arch entrances topped by point-arch traceried windows. A fire in 1902 damaged parts of the building. Then in 1925 the octagonal towers were cut down from their original height. The building served as a church for about 100 years until 1947.
In 1957 the building was converted into an antique automobile museum. When another fire struck in 1969 there was so much damage that the interior was gutted. The structure became the home of the Salem Witch Museum in 1972.
IT'S LIKE...CSI: SALEM
[singlepic id=5 w=350 h=350 float=right]"This work is scientific sleuthing," says Mr. Davidson, reminding me that no one who was involved with building the structure is alive today for consultation. Devising a solution to reinforce the shell of this unique building first requires assessment of the composition of the original stone. One must deduce through this investigation how the stone was fabricatd at the quarry, how the structure was engineered and how the stone was attached to the building. Historical construction materials are not always compatible with modern ones. Therefore, it's important to understand how the materials respond to temperature and moisture, for example, and match these with appropriate new patches.
...WITH A DIFFERENT KIND OF GIL GRISSOM
Michael Drummond Davidson, the conservator on this job, was trained in Scotland as a stone mason 25 years ago and has consulted on the restoration projects at Ellis Island, Carnegy Hall, churches throughout New York as well as American Embassies in Warsaw, Poland and Athens, Greece. The Chicago Tribune Tower in Chicago, Illinois and the Philadelphia, PA City Hall are also among his preservation projects.
THE UNVEILING
The project is expected to be complete by October of this year and, if done as intended, the exterior of the architecture will appear...to be exactly the same! Anticlimactic? Indeed the GOAL of the preservationist and the stone mason Roger Tremblay is to keep the visage of the Salem Witch Museum in tact. In an effort to inform visitors and the community, we'll be making video shorts showing various stages of the conservation available on youtube.com Unveiling is scheduled for early October .
WORKS REFERENCEDArchitecture in Salem: An Illustrated Guide by Bryant F. Tolles, Jr. with Carolyn K. Tolles, pp. 13-14
Photo of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church: